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Greetings!
Welcome to another Blue Ribbon Flies weekly newsletter. Thanks for tuning in. Settle in and we'll tell you what's happening around West Yellowstone and our other favorite spots, show you the fly and the material of the week, and tempt you to plan your next trip with us.
We've got a lot to show you and tell you about this week, so settle down in a comfy chair and dig in. Take a break from work or play, grab a cup of coffee, and pretend you're leaning on the counter here at Blue Ribbon Flies.
We hope to see you soon, right here in West Yellowstone, but until then we wish you happy and healthy fishing and fly tying. All our best to each of you. We wish you were here, but until you are we'll keep you in the loop. Thanks for stopping by.
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What's New
What's Happening in Yellowstone Country
What a difference a year can make. Last winter we were stuck, literally stuck, at our home several times due to blowing and drifting snow. This winter the plows have not had to come up our drive to blow us out. The winter fishing has been incredible. We are on the final countdown though, down to the last 2 weeks of season before the Madison River closes at dark February 29th. The lack of wind, warm late morning and afternoon temperatures, plenty of emerging midges and mating clusters have brought the trout up nearly everyday from Raynolds Bridge to Ennis in selected spots along the river. This past weekend Bucky and I had fine dry fly fishing in the Bear Trap section of the Madison. I wrote a blog post about our day this past week. Yesterday my friends from Dillon, Tim and Rich, drove over to fish with me at Babbling Brook and near Quaking Aspen Creek. We began fishing shortly after 11a.m. Tim and I watched Rich for several minutes as he took many nice rainbows and a couple good browns on a Slough Creek Midge Larva behind a GM Nymph. At first all fish came to the midge but around noon some nice trout began taking the GM as the water warmed a degree or two. February always brings great fishing with stone nymphs as the water temps warm on sunny days and the nymphs become active. Around noon the nymphs might crawl out from under their rock homes to graze on algae covering the tops of their residences. At the mercy of the currents some become dislodge and swept away, and trout cannot seem to resist a fat-juicy stone nymph helplessly adrift in late winter. The reason the GM Nymph is so deadly during late winter. Of course midge larvae and pupa are very active now too and our little Slough Creek Midge Larvae as well as Rick's Red Larvae are incredibly effective trailed behind the GM during late winter and all spring. These flies always occupy favorite spots in our fly boxes!
Yellowstone country has seen some snow the past week and our snow pack reports are showing 72-92% at present for Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone drainages. This spring and early season will offer up very good fishing unlike much of last year when we saw high water must of June and July. If making your early season fly fishing plans I'd recommend you look to June on rivers like the Madison, Firehole, Gibbon and Henry's Fork to name but a few.
We've acquired a few more saddles from Whiting which you will see in this report. While the saddle hackle-hairstyle craze continues we have been fortunate to acquire some very nice saddles and capes.
Cam is off next week on his Belize trip and Jackie and I look forward to some time in the sun chasing bones and permit and tarpon when he returns. We can't yet convince Bucky to leave town on a saltwater junket but after a few more winters in Yellowstone we know he'll want to escape for a week or two! Bucky and I have been dying feathers, blending dubbings and tying lots of custom flies and order for folks the past few weeks as well as getting on the rivers during midge times.
I attended a Yellowstone Park Foundation meeting this week on initial planning for our work with the Park and the ongoing efforts to control lake trout in Yellowstone Lake and restore Yellowstone cutthroat populations and more. We will be coming to you soon for your support of these all important initiatives to protect, preserve and enhance the Yellowstone cutthroat fishery so all future generations can experience this wonderful fish in and around Yellowstone. Stay tuned here.
As usual in the rest of this issue, you'll find fishing news from Yellowstone Country in the weekly Fishing Report. You can see what's hot off the vise in the Fly of the Week, get a sneak peek at some of the best materials on our tying bench in the Fly Tying Material of the Week, and stay up to date with the guide staff and their trips in the Guide Trip of the Week.
You'll be seeing a new email newsletter most every week throughout the fall and winter to keep you tuned in to all things fly fishing and fly tying in the greater Yellowstone area and beyond. Throughout the seasons, we'll keep sending you news of hatches and fishing holes around West Yellowstone. So without further delay, go ahead and jump right into the newsletter. And as always, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email if you have any questions, or if you just want a little fish talk.
Read more from Blue Ribbon Flies...
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2012 Catalog Entries.
My Place in the Current, Yosemite 2010 by Brian Altrock
Photo by Bob Ross
My Place in the Current, Yosemite 2010
Brian Altrock
Every sport boils down to one special moment. The crack of the starting pistol. The ring of the bell. The apex of the assent. The calm of the water with balanced oars at the ready in rowing. Sometimes it is what we see upon success or as often the tense thoughtful moment where we aim to conquer and make real our vision of the future. And if I initially believed everything my father told me, there was that kind of excitement in fly fishing.
But initially I did not see it that way. Fishing, in the past, had been something you did while in the outdoors, rarely the exclusive goal of the trip. Don't get me wrong: I do enjoy fishing. I understand the relaxation, the appeal of the outdoors, and the patience involved in waiting for that strike from the wily trout. But apparently I needed a new challenge; something that would even require me to wade in again, and reconnect.
I cannot say why I ever left fishing behind. But fly fishing had the sheen of an entirely new venture: new gear, new techniques. There's a learning curve in fishing's compulsive brother. But with my father as a faithful guide, fly fishing gained its own place in my mind. Not just another fishing trip, it became an adventure. The first steps always get me hooked again. Packing and rediscovering all the gear new and old (who doesn't like a trip to REI?); a drive which gains altitude proportional to my eagerness; meeting a new crew; working hard, hiking and camping. This was all known territory for me. However, it was the fly fishing that brought a new connection to the group: some of us knew the landscape, and the rest of us were about to connect with nature far more quickly than we ever realized in this unexpected adventure.
Our campsite tucked into the edge of the Tuolumne River on the Lyell Fork, was a perfect setting. During the day we scoured the river and its ample pools for the best place to cast. At night, over the campfire ably set by fellow newcomer Dan, we shared stories and freeze dried hiking meals. (Although an appetizer of pan fried trout in butter and wild onions picked near camp by Dan did earn a 5 star rating in my book.) Our crew encountered humorous stories of the day like Dan, and his buddy, Tony's, day hike turned expedition into B-movie-sized mosquito attacks. Even discussions of world travel and forays into family, books, and teaching warmed us as much as the campfire, not to mention a few quaffs of schnapps, apricot brandy or a capable dram of scotch. These were our shelters from the current. On a trip to the outdoors, there are not the usual anchors and hiding places. Instead, you must connect with friends and stories, nature and challenge, and you own tenacity to move the time. There's no sitting back and letting time swell past you.
But I think the moments that caught us all off guard were the sightings of trout holding their place in the moving water. The crystal clear streams held numerous hiding places, dark recesses along logs and shadowed angles, but very often they place themselves nose-forward in the current. The center of the stream holds their hardest swim and yet these trout make the work seem effortless. Personally, I do not think I can do the image justice, but it reminded me of a line from Hemingway:
"He watched them holding themselves with their noses into the current, many trout in deep, fast moving water, slightly distorted as he watched far down through the glassy convex surface of the pool, its surface pushing and swelling smooth against the resistance of the log-driven piles of the bridge." Big Two-hearted River: Part I
I think their struggle is our own: a constant need to hold our spots as time rushes past. Learning how to move carefully is part of the game. Fly fishing requires caution and practice, and it may look easy from afar, but I think there is much to learn about finding the right spot in the stream.
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Hope you enjoy the latest issue. We'll keep 'em
coming, keeping you up to date on the best
fishing water, tips, and gear we can get our
hands on.
Thanks for spending time with us. We'll see you soon!
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Believe it of not we are only 5 weeks away from the first Mayfly tour of 2012. The Blue Ribbon Guides have been tying a few of their "secret Patterns" in preparation for these trips.
